An ant colony based optimization for RFID reader deployment in theme parks under service level consideration

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tracking systems have been implemented in theme parks to help visitors find lost family or group members. When a visitor enters a park, he/she is assigned a wristband embedded with an active RFID tag. When the visitor passes through the coverage area of an RFID reader, the system can identify the visitor's location. However, few studies have examined the optimal deployment of RFID readers or discussed how to best evaluate the deployment quality of the tracking system. To address this need, an Ant Colony System (ACS)-based reader deployment method is proposed. First, the grid size, the quantity of readers, maximum reading distance of the readers, and visiting frequency of each grid should be decided or derived. Next, the ACS with incremental location setting (ACS-ILS) algorithm is developed to determine the best reader locations to maximize visiting frequency coverage and minimize reader collision. A service level index is then defined and used to evaluate the service quality of the RFID tracking system. The experimental results show that the proposed ACS-based reader deployment method and service level index can help managers determine the near optimal quantity and locations of readers for the RFID tracking system.